Troy High Senior Excels After Suffering Stroke

The Benevolent Association of AFSCME Local 574 (one of the collective bargaining units in the City of Troy) offers an annual scholarship to invest in a Troy School District student’s future. Members of Troy’s AFSCME Local 574, Mike Pihaylic and Joe Mowery presented this year’s scholarship to Troy High School senior Ankita Mangal, at the May 20 Troy City Council meeting.

Ankita plans to attend University of Michigan College of Literature, Science and the Arts and major in Finance and Business.  She has been a member if Troy High’s National Honor Society, SADD, Environmental Activists, Indian Club, Spanish Club and the Troy Diversity Project.  Ankita has been a classical dancer for 13 years, a contemporary pianist for 6 years and dance teacher for Bollywood Music for 3 years.

Her volunteer experience includes Children’s Hospital of Detroit, Sunrise Nursing Home, Troy High Library and the Ekal Vidyalaya event. Ankita is graduating Magna Cum Laude (3 years) and was on the Academic Honor Roll for 7 years.

She has accomplished all these remarkable things even though suffering a stroke during seventh grade which paralyzed half of her body.  Ankita had to relearn how to use her muscles in order to walk and talk.  She regained all of her functions and continued being the honor student she was before the stroke.

She insisted on taking the more challenging honors classes and participated in as many leadership programs as possible throughout her years at Troy High. "Ankita is resilient, optimistic, very highly motivated, personal and mature and has my highest recommendation for the AFSCME scholarship," Troy High School counselor Anne Young said. "Ankita has earned the respect of the THS faculty and her peers through her participation in classes and her involvement in school and community activities."

The Benevolent Association of AFSCME Local 574 is comprised of members and friends of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Local 574, which is one of the collective bargaining units with the City of Troy. These members work in these various departments within the City: Parks and Recreation, Water and Sewer, Streets and Drains, Fleet Maintenance and Engineering. AFSCME Local 574, represents employees in Troy, Clawson, Rochester & Huntington Woods, and has established the charitable organization to, among other benevolent causes, fund a scholarship program for students in those communities.